Resiliently frictionally roll stabilized railway car

ABSTRACT

A spring supported yoke is positioned above each side frame of the car truck in constant frictional engagement with the bolster of the overlying car body. A pair of spaced legs depend from each end of the yoke and are frictionally engaged by a snubbing device in the side frame. The snubbing device includes a wedge secured to the side frame and a friction shoe supported on said wedge. A spring extends between the friction shoe and the yoke through an opening in the side frame.

United States Patent 1191 Tack Mar. 25, 1975 [54] RESILIENTLYFRICTIONALLY ROLL 538,865 /1895 Brill et a1. 105/200 X STABILIZEDRAILWAY CAR 630,358 81899 Kmg ..l 308/138 1,431,050 10 1922 Seelareta... Inventor: Carl E. Tack, Elmhurst. Ill 2,961,974 11/1960 Seelig,Jr. /171 3,024,742 3 1962 B1 tt 105 197 D X [73] Assgneei M lncorpmted3,043,241 7i1962 0:62: 105/199 CB Chlcago, 3,731,638 5/1973 Tack 105/199CB x [22] Filed: Dec. 20, 1971 Primary Examiner-Lloyd L. King [21]2l0l75 Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran Related US. Application Data[63] Continuation of Ser. No. 853,176, Aug. 26, 1969, [57] ABSTRACT d.abandone A spring supported yoke is positloned above each side US A Rframe Of the Car truck in constant frictional engage- 165/453 267/9 A308/138 ment with the bolster of the overlying car body. A pair 51 int.c1. 1361f 5/14, B6lf 5/24, F 17/26 of F legs depend from each 3 3 and[58] Field of 105/164 171 197 R 197 A, are frictionally engaged by asnnbbmg devlce 1n the 105/197 D 199 A 199 E R 206 side frame. Thesnubbing device includes a wedge se- 2O6R 3 5 2611/9 cured t0 the sideframe and a friction shoe supported on said wedge. A spring extendsbetween the friction [56] References Cited shoe and the yoke through anopening in the side UNITED STATES PATENTS frame 516,935 3/1894 Kling105/199 R 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures RESILIENTLY FRICTIONALLY ROLLSTABILIZED RAILWAY CAR This application is a continuation, of copendingapplication Ser. No. 853,176, filed Aug. 26, I969, now abandoned.

This invention relates to stabilizing arrangements for railway vehicleswherein rocking of the car body from side to side and swiveling of thecar truck relative to the body is minimized.

With the advent of larger and heavier railway vehicles, the problems ofcar rocking and truck swiveling have become increasingly significant.Under certain conditions, the action of a railway vehicle over staggeredrail joints and at critical speeds results in violent rocking of the carbody from side to side. Another undesirable occurrence is thelongitudinal movement of the truck side frames relative to one another,commonly referred to as truck swiveling.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a devicethat may be easily incorporated into a conventional railway vehicle andthat minimizes the car rocking and truck swiveling referred to above.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description andappended claims, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view, with certain parts removed andwith a portion shown in section, of a railway vehicle that incorporatesfeatures of the presently described invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along section line 33 of'FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the friction shoe and wedge structure ofthe present invention isolated from surrounding structure.

It will be understood that a normal railway vehicle comprises a car bodysupported upon two trucks, and the drawings and description, for thesake of brevity, are confined to one side of one truck, inasmuch as bothsides thereof include identical parts.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the railway vehicle is shown comprising acar body, a portion of which is generally indicated at 10, supportedupon the bolster 12 of the car truck 14 in a conventional manner. Eachend of the bolster 12 is carried in the window 116 of a sidecorresponding pedestal 24 on both sides of the side frame. A frictionplate 40 is secured on the top of the channel member 32 and frictionallyengages a similar friction plate 42 secured to the bolster 44 of the carbody 10 (FIG. 1). As best shown in FIG. 2, guide lugs 37 and 39 extendlaterally from the compression member of the side frame 116 on bothsides thereof and are engageable with the end surfaces of respectivelegs 34 and 35 of the yoke 30, said guide lugs serving to pre ventlongitudinal movement of the yoke relative to the side frames.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a wedge 46 is secured within the opening36 on both sides of the side frame 18. For this purpose, a supportmember 48 (FIG. 1) may be secured within each column 38 contiguous withthe outer periphery of the opening 36, and the wedge 46 may be weldedalong its lower edge 50 (FIG.

frame 18 comprising compression 20 and tension 22 members, which arejoined together at their ends in pedestals 24 supported upon wheel andaxle assemblies (shown in outline at 26). The bolster 12 is supportedupon springs, indicated diagrammatically at 28, which rest on thetension member 22 of the side frame 18. It will be understood that theaforementioned structure is conventional and need not be described ingreater detail.

The present invention comprises a vertically movable yoke, generallyindicated at 30, spring supported above each side frame 18 and infrictional engagement with the car body 10. As will be hereinafter morefully described, vertical movement of the yoke is also snubbed bysuitable friction means within the side frame.

The yoke 30 comprises a channel member 32 of greater inside width thanthe compression member 20 of the side frame 18 and a pair of spacedopposed legs 34 and 35 (FIG. 3) depending from each end of said channelmember in the vicinity of the opening 36 that is conventionally includedbetween the column 38 and 3) to said support. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,the wedge 46 comprises an outward facing vertical friction surface 52and a substantially V-shaped concave snubbing surface 54 that isinclined outward from top to bottom.

A friction shoe 56 is also provided in each opening 36 at both sides ofthe side frame, said friction shoe comprising an outward facing verticalfriction surface 58 and a substantially V-shaped convex snubbing surface60 that is inclined inward from top to bottom and is substantiallycomplementary with and frictionally engages the snubbing surface 54 ofthe wedge 46.

Friction plates 62 and 64 (FIG. 3) are secured on the inside surface ofrespective legs 34 and 35 of the yoke 30 to be frictionally engaged bythe respective outward facing vertical surfaces 58 and 52 of thefriction shoe and wedge 56 and 46, respectively. It will be noted thatthe friction shoe 56 is not attached to any of the surroundingstructure, but is held in position by its engagement with the wedge 46and the friction plate 62. A substantially vertically disposed, helicalspring, indicated diagrammatically at 66, extends through an opening 66in the compression member 20 of the side frame 18 between the channelmember 32 of the yoke 30 and a top surface of the friction shoe 56.Annular bosses, 70 and 72, are provided respectively on the channelmember 32 and friction shoe 52 to retain the spring 66 in position.

Additional retaining means for the yoke 30 is provided by way of a bolt74 extending between the spaced legs 34 and 35 in the vicinity of thewedge 46 and friction shoe 56. Aligned, downwardly open slots areprovided in each of the wedge 46 and friction shoe 56 at 76 and 78,respectively, to accommodate the bolt 74 and prevent interferencetherewith. Also, a thimble 60 is provided around the bolt 74 to preventinward distorting of the legs 34 and 35. As shown, the bolt 74 is sopositioned as to be normally entirely spaced from the wedge 46 andfriction shoe 5 6.

In operation, the car body 16, being conventionally spring supported onthe bolster 12 of the truck 14, is also supported at its sides byconstant Contact with the yoke 30. Longitudinal shifting of the sideframe 18 rela tive to the car body is minimized because of thefrictional contact between the wear plate 42 secured to the body bolster44 and the wear plate 40 secured to the yoke 30. As the car body movesdownward relative to the side frame the spring 66 is compressed, whichcauses the friction shoe 56 to wedge down between the friction plate 62and the wedge 46, and causes increased friction between the verticalsurface 58 of said friction shoe and its corresponding friction plate 62and the vertical surface 52 of said wedge and its corresponding frictionplate 64. Such snubbing of downward motions of the car body at themaximum distance from the center of the truck has been found to beparticularly effective in reducing rocking of the car body from side toside.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. In a railwayvehicle including a car body having a car bolster supported upon thebolster of a car truck wherein each end of the truck bolster isspringsupported in a side frame in turn supported upon wheel and axleassemblies, the improvement comprising: a yoke positioned between thecar body and the side frame, said yoke being bifurcated to define a pairof spaced legs depending downwardly and receiving the side frametherebetween, said yoke having a friction surface, said car body havinga friction surface, spring means on said frame urging said yoke surfaceinto engagement with said car body friction surface, and snubbing meansactuated by said spring means for frictionally engaging each pair oflegs and yieldingly resisting vertical movements of the yoke, whereby astabilizing effect is provided which substantially reduces both therocking of the car body and truck swivel, said reduction of truck swivelbeing accomplished by said frictional engagement of the yoke surfacewith the car body surface and said reduction of the rocking of the carbody being accomplished by said snubbing means attenuating the energyimparted thereto from the car body through said resiliently supportedyoke.

2. In a railway vehicle having a car body supported upon a bolster, saidbolster being mounted at its end on springs supported upon a side framehaving an upper surface, said side frame being supported by wheel andaxle assemblies, the improvement comprising: a yoke having an uppermember in frictional bearing engagement with said car body and having abifurcated end portion including spaced legs, said upper member beinglocated between the upper surface of the side frame and said car bodyand said legs of said yoke straddling said side frame, said side framehaving an opening between said legs, means on said side frame to limitmovement of said yoke longitudinally along said side frame, a snubbingdevice between said legs and attached to the side frame said snubbingdevice having a wedge shaped member secured to said side frame, saidwedge shaped member having a vertical surface and an angular surface,said angular surface facing upwardly, a second wedge shaped memberhaving a vertical surface facing outward and frictionally engageablewith an interior surface of one of said legs, the other leg beingfrictionally engageable with the vertical surface of saidfirst-mentioned wedge shaped member, said angular surface of thefirst-mentioned wedge shaped member frictionally engaging acomplementary surface of said second wedge shaped member, and springmeans extending through the opening in said side frame between said legsto the bottom surface of the upper yoke member and being engaged by saidupper member, said spring means being supported by the second wedgeshaped member, said spring means urging said upper yoke member intoengagement with said car body.

3. In a railway vehicle having a car body supported upon a bolster, saidbolster being mounted at its ends on springs supported upon a side framehaving an upper surface, said side frame being located on wheel and axleassemblies, the improvement comprising: a yoke having an upper member infrictional engagement with said car body, said upper member beinglocated between the upper surface of said side frame and said car body,said yoke having legs depending downwardly from said member andvertically movable with respect to said side frame at the inboard andoutboard sides thereof, respectively, means on said side frame to limitmovement of said yoke longitudinally along said side frame, resilientmeans engaged with said upper member for urging it upwardly into saidfrictional engagement with said car body, and means carried by said sideframe for supporting said resilient means, whereby truck swivel isfrictionally resisted.

4. The improvement in claim 3 wherein the means to limit yoke movementcomprise guide lugs on the side frame engageable with said legs.

5. In a railway car wherein a car body bolster is supported on a truckbolster and wherein a side frame member carries springs supporting saidtruck bolster; the combination of a car body member overlying said sideframe member, a friction device carried by the side frame member, saiddevice comprising a part in frictional, separable engagement with thecar body member, said friction device comprising a friction surfacecarried by the side frame member, a friction shoe,

wedge means urging said shoe toward said friction surface, and frictionshoe actuating means comprising compression spring means forinterengaging the wedge means and friction shoe thereby urging the shoeagainst the friction surface, said spring means reacting against saidpart to urge it into said engagement with said car body member, wherebydownward rocking movement of said car body member toward said side framemember is immediately resisted by said compression spring means and bysaid friction shoe and upward movement of said car body member away fromsaid side frame member is entirely free from resistance by saidcompression spring means and by said friction shoe.

6. A railway car truck according to claim 5 wherein the compressionspring means extends through an opening of the side frame member abovethe friction shoe.

7. A railway car truck according to claim 5 wherein the friction devicecomprises spaced legs depending from the part and attached thereto andwherein the wedge means comprises a side frame wedge surface slopingtoward one leg and engaging the friction shoe, the shoe frictionallyengaging said one leg along said friction surface, and the side framefrictionally engaging the other leg, and wherein the compression springmeans is compressed by and between said part and said shoe.

1. In a railway vehicle including a car body having a car bolstersupported upon the bolster of a car truck wherein each end of the truckbolster is spring-supported in a side frame in turn supported upon wheeland axle assemblies, the improvement comprising: a yoke positionedbetween the car body and the side frame, said yoke being bifurcated todefine a pair of spaced legs depending downwardly and receiving the sideframe therebetween, said yoke having a friction surface, said car bodyhaving a friction surface, spring means on said frame urging said yokesurface into engagement with said car body friction surface, andsnubbing means actuated by said spring means for frictionally engagingeach pair of legs and yieldingly resisting vertical movements of theyoke, whereby a stabilizing effect is provided which substantiallyreduces both the rocking of the car body and truck swivel, saidreduction of truck swivel being accomplished by said frictionalengagement of the yoke surface with the car body surface and saidreduction of the rocking of the car body being accomplished by saidsnubbing means attenuating the energy imparted thereto from the car bodythrough said resiliently supported yoke.
 2. In a railway vehicle havinga car body supported upon a bolster, said bolster being mounted at itsend on springs supported upon a side frame having an upper surface, saidside frame being supported by wheel and axle assemblies, the improvementcomprising: a yoke having an upper member in frictional bearingengagement with said car body and having a bifurcated end portionincluding spaced legs, said upper member being located between the uppersurface of the side frame and said car body and said legs of said yokestraddling said side frame, said side frame having an opening betweensaid legs, means on said side frame to limit movement of said yokelongitudinally along said side frame, a snubbing device between saidlegs and attached to the side frame said snubbing device having a wedgeshaped member secured to said side frame, said wedge shaped memberhaving a vertical surface and an angular surface, said angular surfacefacing upwardly, a second wedge shaped member having a vertical surfacefacing outward and frictionally engageable with an interior surface ofone of said legs, the other leg being frictionally engageable with thevertical surface of said first-mentioned wedge shaped member, saidangular surface of the first-mentioned wedge shaped member frictionallyengaging a complementary surface of said second wedge shaped member, andspring means extending through the opening in said side frame betweensaid legs to the bottom surface of the upper yoke member and beingengaged by said upper member, said spring means being supported by thesecond wedge shaped member, said spring means urging said upper yokemember into engagement with said car body.
 3. In a railway vehiclehaving a car body supported upon a bolster, said bolster being mountedat its ends on springs supported upon a side frame having an uppersurface, said side frame being located on wheel and axle assemblies, theimprovement comprising: a yoke having an upper member in frictionalengagement with said car body, said upper member being located betweenthe upper surface of said side frame and said car body, said yoke havinglegs depending downwardly from said member and vertically movable withrespect to said side frame at the inboard and outboard sides thereof,respectively, means on said side frame to limit movement of said yokelongitudinally along said side frAme, resilient means engaged with saidupper member for urging it upwardly into said frictional engagement withsaid car body, and means carried by said side frame for supporting saidresilient means, whereby truck swivel is frictionally resisted.
 4. Theimprovement in claim 3 wherein the means to limit yoke movement compriseguide lugs on the side frame engageable with said legs.
 5. In a railwaycar wherein a car body bolster is supported on a truck bolster andwherein a side frame member carries springs supporting said truckbolster; the combination of a car body member overlying said side framemember, a friction device carried by the side frame member, said devicecomprising a part in frictional, separable engagement with the car bodymember, said friction device comprising a friction surface carried bythe side frame member, a friction shoe, wedge means urging said shoetoward said friction surface, and friction shoe actuating meanscomprising compression spring means for interengaging the wedge meansand friction shoe thereby urging the shoe against the friction surface,said spring means reacting against said part to urge it into saidengagement with said car body member, whereby downward rocking movementof said car body member toward said side frame member is immediatelyresisted by said compression spring means and by said friction shoe andupward movement of said car body member away from said side frame memberis entirely free from resistance by said compression spring means and bysaid friction shoe.
 6. A railway car truck according to claim 5 whereinthe compression spring means extends through an opening of the sideframe member above the friction shoe.
 7. A railway car truck accordingto claim 5 wherein the friction device comprises spaced legs dependingfrom the part and attached thereto and wherein the wedge means comprisesa side frame wedge surface sloping toward one leg and engaging thefriction shoe, the shoe frictionally engaging said one leg along saidfriction surface, and the side frame frictionally engaging the otherleg, and wherein the compression spring means is compressed by andbetween said part and said shoe.